It’s Official: 3G iPad Available in U.S. on April 30th

Following up on e-mails to preorder customers on Monday, Apple has officially announced that the 3G-equipped iPad will be in U.S. stores on April 30th.

Not content to be left stinging over their lost iPhone, this morning Apple Inc. announced that the Wi-Fi + 3G model of the iPad will arrive in U.S. stores on April 30th -- right down to the wire on the last day of the month after promising “late April” for preorders to ship.

If you were one of those who preordered from Apple’s online store, you can expect a FedEx or UPS truck to pull up to your door at some point during that day. The rest of you will have to wait until 5 pm to hit your local Apple retail outlet -- there was no word in Apple’s press release about the 3G-equipped iPad being available at Best Buy, who is currently selling the Wi-Fi only model released on April 3rd (along with Apple Authorized Resellers and campus bookstores). If you happen to buy online now, you won’t get your 3G iPad until May 7th at the earliest.

Apple also reminds 3G iPad buyers that their device is comparable to the existing Wi-Fi model save for one area: They’re only promising nine hours of web surfing over 3G instead of the Wi-Fi only model’s 10 hours. The 3G iPad model carries a $130 premium over the price of the Wi-Fi only version, with 16GB for $629, 32GB for $729 and 64GB for $829.

Finally, Apple plans to announce international pricing and actually start taking preorders for both iPad models on May 10th for Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the U.K., with those units expected to ship by mid-June.

Stay tuned to MacLife.com the first week of May for the second part of our two-part saga of replacing your iPhone with an iPad -- which we imagine will be made easier thanks to the availability of a 3G connection on the second iPad model.